MPs reject plan to have political map of Leicestershire redrawn before 2015 General Election

MPs have @rejected a plan which could have seen the political map of Leicestershire redrawn before the 2015 General Election.

Yesterday, the Government was hoping to get approval for a review of constituencies that would see the number of MPs cut from 650 to 600.

However, the Liberal Democrats voted with Labour against their Conservative Coalition partners.

By 334 votes to 292, they voted to accept changes made by peers which mean the boundaries will not be redrawn until at least 2018.

Under the changes, the existing North West Leicestershire constituency would have been split and Coalville would have been linked with Keyworth, 24 miles away.

Current Tory MP Andrew Bridgen voted with the Government, despite the fact it would have meant his constituency would have been carved up.

He said the move would have saved £25 million a year as there would be 50 fewer MPs and would have ensured constituencies with equal populations.

He told the Mercury: “It’s a conspiracy against the Conservatives between Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the minority parties and I hope they feel a twinge of conscience.

“However, this will change eventually but it means we will fight 2015 on the same boundaries. I will continue to represent the people of North West Leicestershire until they tell me they want someone else.

“I have always supported the review and just because the Boundary Commission came back – independently – with a recommendation that I was a victim of, I didn’t feel I could change my position.”

North West Leicestershire Labour spokesman John Legrys said: “I am pleased. Putting Coalville with Keyworth, in Nottinghamshire, was one of the more eccentric proposals of the Boundaries Commission.”

North West Leicestershire Lib Dem chairman Michael Wyatt said: “Putting Coalville with Keyworth would have been an electoral disaster.”

The other major change for Leicestershire would have been moving Lutterworth from the South Leicestershire constituency and putting it with Daventry, in Northamptonshire.

Comments

"Quote from Bridgen: "He said the move would have saved £25 million a year as there would be 50 fewer MPs and ensured constituencies with equal populations."
Now how dishonest can he get?
If the Cons wanted to save money on Westminster, why did they make well over a hundred new Lords to claim vast expenses in the House of Lords? The answer of course is that they are not trying to save money, they just want to take complete control of Westminster, however undemocratically.
Secondly the proposed Con boundary changes were never designed to ensure constituencies with equal populations. The Cons only wanted equal numbers of voters, knowing full well that millions of people in this country do not have a vote.
If constituencies had been equalised according to the number of people, including children and all those adults not on voting lists for one reason or another, it might have been acceptable. The 2011 census results should have given accurate population figures.
But most constituencies in towns (with mainly Labour MPs) contain large numbers of children and others who are not listed as voters, whereas most countryside constituencies (with mainly Con MPs) have relatively few children or others not on the voting list. This means that most Con MPs would have represented much smaller constituencies than their Labour counterparts. As demo would claim, that's gerrymandering by the Cons on a big scale!
But MPs are supposed to represent everyone, not just those registered to vote.
No doubt the Cons think ordinary children are not worthy of any attention - just pack them off to expensive boarding school and forget about them for weeks on end!
The Con Bridgen is being dreadfully dishonest isn't he. There's a surprise!"